What is the history of this rock?

The rock in this photo is a banded gneiss (NICE). The bands are made of different minerals.
The light bands are more felsic, and the dark bands are more mafic. The minerals separated
due to heat and pressure. The waviness of the bands also shows how the rock was hot enough
to alter. It was not hot enough to melt all the way. The most common metamorphic rock in
Missouri is quartzite. It was brought here by ancient glacial deposition.

Forming Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rocks start off as some kind of rock. The starting rock can be igneous,
sedimentary, or even another metamorphic rock. Heat and/or pressure then change the rock
into a metamorphic rock. The change can be physical, chemical, or both.
Think of the inside of the Earth is like an oven. The Earth "bakes" the rocks and chemically
changes the minerals inside them. These chemically changed rocks are
called metamorphicrocks. Metamorphism does not cause a rock to melt completely. It only
causes the minerals to change by heat or pressure. If the rock melts completely, it will cool to
become an igneous rock.

Heat & Pressure

Minerals in all types of rocks go through chemical changes when rocks are heated. When
rocks are heated between 200 to 800 degrees Celsius, a chemical change occurs in the
minerals of the rock. When the temperature is below 100 degrees Celsius, the minerals do not
change. Magma is formed when the temperature is above 800 degrees Celsius. At this
temperature rocks would become igneous rocks when they cool.
Forces can also affect rocks buried deep inside the Earth. Pressure changes the form of
minerals. Extreme pressure can flatten minerals into layers.

Magma
When existing rocks come into contact with magma, they can change into metamorphic
rocks. This is called contact metamorphism. The liquid magma can move in between cracks
of existing rock, like deeply buried limestone. The heat and chemical solutions in the magma
cause the minerals inside the limestone to change forming the metamorphic rock marble. The
heat from the magma can also change the minerals in igneous rocks like granite. The heat
can turn it into gneiss. Heat can also change the metamorphic rock slate into phyllite.
Classifying Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks are classified based on their texture. Texture is determined by the
arrangement of mineral crystals in the rock. Metamorphic rocks can be foliated or
nonfoliated.

Foliated Metamorphic Rocks

When mineral crystals arrange themselved in bands or layers, it is called foliation. Foliated
metamorphic rocks tend to break along their mineral crystal bands when existing rocks, like
granite, are placed under great pressure, foliated metamorphic rocks are formed, like gneiss.
Under this great heat and pressure, the minerals in the rock melts and recrystallize into
minerals that form bands. Look at your metamorphic rocks. Which ones are foliated?

Nonfoliated Metamorphic Rocks

A metamorphic rock that does not have its minerals arranged in bands is called nonfoliated.
Nonfoliated metamorphic rocks do not break in layers. Marble is formed from limestone and
shows large calcite crystals. Quartzite is formed from sandstone and shows large quartz
crystals.
Types of Metamorphic Rocks

Amphibolite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that forms through recrystallization under

conditions of high viscosity and directed pressure. It is composed primarily
of hornblende(amphibole) and plagioclase, usually with very little quartz. The specimen
shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

Gneiss is a foliated metamorphic rock that has a banded appearance and is made up of
granular mineral grains. It typically contains abundant quartz or feldspar minerals. The
specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

Hornfels is a fine-grained nonfoliated metamorphic rock with no specific composition. It is

produced by contact metamorphism. Hornfels is a rock that was "baked" while near a heat
source such as a magma chamber, sill, or dike. The specimen shown above is about two
inches (five centimeters) across.

Schist is a metamorphic rock with well-developed foliation. It often contains significant

amounts of mica which allow the rock to split into thin pieces. It is a rock of intermediate
metamorphic grade between phyllite and gneiss. The specimen shown above is a "chlorite
schist" because it contains a significant amount of chlorite. It is about two inches (five
centimeters) across.

Soapstone is a metamorphic rock that consists primarily of talc with varying amounts of
other minerals such as micas, chlorite, amphiboles, pyroxenes, and carbonates. It is a soft,
dense, heat-resistant rock that has a high specific heat capacity. These properties make it
useful for a wide variety of architectural, practical, and artistic uses.

Slate is a foliated metamorphic rock that is formed through the metamorphism of shale. It is
a low-grade metamorphic rock that splits into thin pieces. The specimen shown above is
about two inches (five centimeters) across.